There is truth to the idea that we all learn best by doing. The human brain retains information best be repletion and experience, not by receiving large bursts of information in a short amount of time, and not having the immediate or ongoing opportunity to apply that newly gained knowledge. What works best is extensive follow up to learning during the “post” learning process – or in the business world in the everyday work environment that follows the conclusion of initial training sessions.
When it comes to training new users to a software like Microsoft Dynamics CRM, sometimes what comes after training is as important as what comes during it. As Gartner Research has suggested, you can “improve CRM training effectiveness by conducting reinforcement training [several] weeks after the Go-Live.”
The reality is though, companies still spend significant time, money and energy on classroom training and e-learning that takes their employees away from their desks or away from their work. Then, at the conclusion we hope they implement the training strategies that we require, but we know that they often lose a significant amount of knowledge once they leave the classroom.
This means that you’re getting very little as an employer out of your investment in your employees education. So how can we improve these statistics and get a solid return on investment?
Performance support is about putting tools and information and assistance into your employees hands so that they can access it whenever they need it. This informal learning support has been strategically and intentionally designed to provide an intuitive learning opportunity, which is tailored to the person using it when they need it most. Performance support has been around a long time, but with the advances in technology (including advancements in mobile technology) there is significant ability to tap into new and emerging performance support systems. Employees now have the ability to get help anytime they need it at unprecedented speed.
We know that with workplace learning, people won’t implement their training unless it is incorporated into their daily tasks. So by providing support during their performance, they will learn and retain training information far more than ever before.
So let’s say you had a user of Dynamics CRM who is struggling to remember how to perform a certain online process. The idea of performance support is to reach that user in his/her exact moment of need, at the point of confusion. You might think of it in terms of the “support” aspect of the phrase, but really it’s also about making learning as continuous process. Performance support for Dynamics CRM users allows them to use the new training in their work, immediately, so that they can locate their own work in your company’s “big picture.”
As Dynamics CRM users become more familiar with advances in technology and mobile support, businesses have the ability to support employee training and offer unique on the job support. Adding a performance support component application (WalkMe is a very good example) to the initial training will bolster user performance and lower IT support requests. If you do this, you’ll see a significant increase in the effectiveness of both formal and informal training for your employees.